Features of alimony obligations between family members

An alimony obligation is the foundation on which the legal relationship is built between the obligated person and the person who has the right to demand monetary payments from him. In other words, the absence of an alimony obligation leads to the fact that the alimony holder legally owes nothing to the alimony recipient.

The legal regulation of alimony obligations is enshrined in the Family Code, namely in Section 5. This document is a single codified act in Russia, which contains all the rules relating to alimony. Based on the text of the Family Code, one can identify several types of alimony obligations, classify them, and find out in what cases an obligation may arise or be terminated.

Definition and mechanism of occurrence of alimony obligations

Definition

The word “alimony” has ancient Roman origins, as evidenced by the translation of this word from Latin. There are 2 known translation options:

1. Content.
2. Nutrition.

In ancient Rome, the word “alimentum” was the gratuitous provision of monetary amounts from one family member to another family member as maintenance.

In the modern world, the meaning of this word has remained virtually unchanged. As in ancient times, the alimony obligation refers to the relationship between 2 family members or close relatives, one of whom undertakes to pay money or transfer property for the maintenance of the second party to the obligation, and the second party to the obligation has the right to demand the provision of this maintenance.

How do they arise?

The legal scheme of any alimony obligation includes 3 key features, without which its occurrence is impossible:

1. Kinship or family ties must not exist in words, but be certified by documents. In the Russian Federation, the responsibility to register civil status rests with the state civil registry office. Information about civil status is recorded in special register books, and citizens receive certificates. Let's give an example: the birth certificate of a minor certifies several facts: the baby's name with surname and patronymic, the date he was born, information about his parents. Thus, this certificate is written evidence of the relationship between a minor child and his parents.
2. Certain categories of alimony recipients have grounds unique to them that allow them to demand maintenance from the alimony provider. For example, in the case of child support obligations, this is a minor; in the case of alimony obligations of spouses, former spouses, parents, incapacity for work (disability or reaching retirement age) or neediness (income below the subsistence level; need for funds for treatment). In the case of a wife or ex-wife, pregnancy or raising a common child who is under 3 years old.
3. Documentation of alimony obligations within the framework of an agreement certified by a notary, or an act (order or decision) issued by the court.

Signs

Classification of alimony obligations

Child support for grandparents

Grandparents also have the right to receive financial assistance from relatives, namely grandchildren. This privilege is granted to them by Article 95 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

According to this legislative norm, adult, able-bodied grandchildren who earn their own living must help their grandparents who need a means of subsistence.

However, the latter is only possible in situations where financial assistance cannot be provided by adult children or spouses.

Grandmothers, as well as grandfathers who actually raised their grandson, have the right to demand regular monthly monetary support after he reaches the age of majority, if he is not recognized as a disabled person.

Conditions for receiving alimony payments

Based on the analysis of current legislation, it can be argued that one can receive the above-mentioned payments under the totality of the following conditions:

• reaching the age of majority by the potential alimony recipient;
• the defendant’s ability to work and his state of health;
• the possibility of providing the plaintiff with monetary support;
• confirmed fact of the applicant's need;
• the plaintiff has reached the age that entitles him to receive alimony or other reasons for his inability to work;
• the impossibility of the applicant receiving monetary payments from his children or spouse.

If grandparents have able-bodied grandchildren, then alimony will be collected from them. At the same time, the well-being of grandchildren is not taken into account.

Thus, grandchildren will be recognized as alimony payers if the plaintiff’s children and the second spouse, including the former, are disabled, have no opportunity to help financially, or are no longer alive.

At the same time, the court will not impose alimony obligations on a person if he himself needs financial support.

Financial Content Amount

The amount of monthly maintenance can be determined by agreement of the parties. The results of the agreement were set out in writing in the form of an agreement. This document is certified by a notary.

To do this, in addition to three identical copies, you must provide your civil passports or other identification documents (residence permit, refugee certificate, etc.). In addition, a receipt for payment of the state duty is submitted.

When the parties do not agree voluntarily, the dispute is considered in court. For this purpose, the interested party submits a statement of claim to the court, and also attaches papers confirming its position.

The amount of alimony can be set at a fixed amount or as a percentage of the cost of living. When considering a dispute, the judge will take into account the following factors:

• financial support for the applicant;
• financial position of the likely payer;
• marital status of the potential alimony recipient;
• the amount of the defendant’s regular income;
• the presence of minor children and other dependents;
• health status of the parties and their family members.

If there are several defendants, the judge will analyze the financial well-being of each and only after that determine the scope of obligations for each.

Legal features of alimony collection

The law allows only 2 ways to formalize alimony legal relations between the alimony provider and the alimony recipient:

1. Alimony agreement.
2. Judgment or court order.

An agreement is a written document, the terms of which the parties to the obligation can negotiate themselves, without the participation of third parties. This fact provides greater freedom when discussing the following issues:

• How will child support be paid? Participants in the agreement can choose any period of time for payments: 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 year, 1 quarter, in a lump sum.
• How will child support be paid? In this case, the law also provides complete freedom. This could be a fixed amount, a transfer of property assets, a percentage of income, or the purchase of property necessary for the alimony recipient.
• How will the alimony holder be held responsible if he allows a child support debt to arise? The parties can agree on any types of liability independently, for example, on the amount of the penalty, on the transfer of pledged items into the ownership of the recipient of alimony in the event of late payments, on the amount of a one-time fine for late payment.
• How long is the agreement for? For example, the child was 7 years old at the time of the agreement between the parents. The parents decided that they would enter into an agreement for 5 years. Termination of the agreement in this case does not at all mean the termination of the child support obligation, since the child at this time will only be 12 years old, but not 18 years old. If the new agreement is not certified by a notary, then one of the parents can obtain payment of child support through the court.

As can be understood from what was written above, the lack of notarization means the automatic invalidity of the agreement. To certify the drawn up agreement, you can contact any notary. The main thing is that it is registered with the Ministry of Justice and the Chamber of Notaries. To draw up the text of the agreement, you need to contact lawyers specializing in family law, or use the samples below:

1. for a minor child.
2. to your spouse or ex-wife.

It is also worth noting some features that are unique to an alimony agreement:

• One party cannot refuse to fulfill the agreement without obtaining the consent of the other party.
• Termination or modification of the rules specified in the agreement can only occur with a notary. If the parties conflict with each other and cannot agree on an agreement, then the conflict is resolved by the court.
• Alimony agreement = writ of execution. This means that, firstly, if a child support debt arises, there is no need to go to court, and, secondly, it can immediately be presented to the bailiffs with a requirement to take all possible measures to obtain payments from the alimony provider.
• Minor children are protected by law, which sets a minimum limit for their provision. Parents in the agreement cannot set the amount of payments below this limit, namely, 25% of income for 1 minor; 33% of income for 2 minors; 50% of income for 3 minors.

Below we will describe the features inherent in the judicial collection of alimony.

For minor children

The payer of child support is the parent living separately from the child. His obligation to provide for the minor is unconditional and does not depend on the level of income, marital status, debt load, or the presence of obligations to other people.

Minor children are a special group of alimony recipients for whom alimony can be calculated in 2 different ways, described in the table below.

Also, it is necessary to take into account the following rule established in the Family Code: if for some reason the person who has the right to collect alimony did not file a corresponding claim in court, then it is possible to demand alimony only for the past 3 years from the date of filing the statement of claim . At the same time, the court must provide evidence that the plaintiff actually tried to obtain alimony from the defendant, for example, sent him a registered letter with a proposal to enter into an alimony agreement, or wrote by email demanding alimony, or received an order for alimony from the magistrate, but the defendant canceled it .

Further, keep in mind that as of August 2020, new rules regarding the amount of the penalty and the procedure for its collection are in effect. Firstly, the penalty has been reduced from 0.5% to 0.1 percent per day for the amount of debt. Secondly, the court received the right to reduce the penalty if it is excessively high (usually more than 50% of the debt amount).

Termination of alimony obligation, where the recipient of alimony is a minor, is possible on 3 grounds:

1. The child support worker or minor child has died.
2. The minor was adopted by another person, and the child support provider was deprived of his rights as a parent.
3. The minor has reached the age of 18, or entered into marriage before the age of 18, or was emancipated before the age of 18, i.e. acquired full legal capacity with the permission of parents and guardianship institutions due to registration of a business with the Federal Tax Service or obtaining an official job.

For a mother with a child under 3 years old

In this case, the alimony recipient is the wife or ex-wife, and the alimony payer is the husband or ex-husband. The purpose of providing alimony is to financially support a woman who is in a vulnerable position due to the fact that she is responsible for caring for a small child and cannot earn a living.

The features of the alimony obligation in this situation are that:

1. The husband or ex-husband must have sufficient funds, i.e. he needs to earn such an amount of money that after paying alimony he will have funds in the amount of 1 adult subsistence level.
2. Alimony can only be provided in a fixed amount, paid monthly.
3. The court is obliged to take into account the financial security of the alimony recipient and his marital status (the presence of other dependents who are financially dependent on the alimony payer) when calculating the amount due to the alimony recipient.
4. The obligation is unconditional, i.e. cannot be canceled until the child turns 3 years old.

For disabled spouses

The table below describes when a spouse is obligated to support another spouse and when a former spouse is obligated to support another ex-spouse.

For children over 18 years old

Parents have an unconditional obligation to provide financially for their adult children if:

1. An adult child has become disabled for any reason and has lost all or part of his or her ability to work. Accordingly, he lost the opportunity to provide for himself.
2. Along with his inability to work, he is recognized by the court as a person in need of help. The need may be not only the need for money to live, but also the need to care for an adult child, look after him or provide him with medical procedures.

As the Family Code states, child support for adult children can only be assigned in a fixed amount, which must be paid every month. In this case, the judge is obliged to take into account the financial situation of each party (what sources of income they have; the amount of earnings per month; what property they own) and marital status (the presence of dependents who are financially dependent on the alimony payer).

Alimony for brothers and sisters

Such obligations arise in relation to both full and half-siblings. The latter include persons who have a common mother or father. These payments are not primary, they are additional.

This is explained by the fact that, according to the law, parents must support their minor children. If, for some good reason, they cannot provide for their children, then the responsibility for providing financial support may be assigned to close relatives. For example, able-bodied brothers and sisters. Valid reasons include:

• death of parents;
• recognition of fathers and mothers as disabled.

Conditions for receiving payments

Receiving regular financial support from siblings is only possible by order of a judge. Even the issue of assigning alimony payments as a percentage of earnings is resolved in court.

In order for minors to receive monthly payments, several conditions must be met:

• impossibility of collecting alimony from parents;
• the baby's neediness;
• the financial situation of the potential alimony recipient allows him to pay maintenance.

Disabled adults have the right to receive assistance if the following facts are confirmed:

• the plaintiff's needs;
• the absence of other persons (parents, spouses, adult children) who could provide financial support;
• availability of the defendant's ability to provide monthly allowance.

Alimony for brothers and sisters is usually assigned in a fixed amount. Its size is determined by the judge individually. This takes into account the family composition of the parties and their income.

Sometimes the size of the regular payment is set as a percentage of the subsistence minimum for the category of persons to which the needy relative belongs.

In each region, this value is approved by local authorities. This approach significantly simplifies the procedure for indexing alimony payments and protects the interests of the recipient.

If the plaintiff has several brothers and sisters, then the court determines the order of participation of each based on their financial well-being and family composition.

When concluding an agreement, the amount of maintenance is determined by the parties by joint consent, and when making a decision, the court takes into account all the interests of the parties.

Sample statement of claim for alimony collection

The statement of claim or application for a court order must indicate:

1. The name of the judicial authority to which the application will be submitted.
2. Information about the plaintiff and defendant, namely: their full name, residential addresses, telephone numbers (if known to the applicant), email addresses (at the request of the applicant).
3. Description of the circumstances of the claim and a description of the facts of violation by the defendant of the rights of the plaintiff.
4. Listing of evidence substantiating the applicant's claims.
5. Calculation of the amount of alimony to be paid monthly (optional item).
6. Links to articles of law with which the applicant substantiates his words.
7. List of claims.
8. List of applications submitted simultaneously with the application.
9. Applicant's signature.
10. Date of writing the application.

A sample application for a court order, which you can use to write your own application, is here. Keep in mind that court orders are issued only for child support for minor children, when it is collected as a share of earnings.

A sample statement of claim, in which the plaintiff demands alimony for a minor, can be downloaded from here, an application for alimony for a spouse - here, for an ex-wife - here, for alimony for a parent - here.

Alimony to stepfather or stepmother

Not only parents have the right to demand child support. The Russian Family Code allows stepfathers and stepmothers to grant similar rights to their stepsons and stepdaughters. As in previous cases, such payments can be made by payers by agreement or on the basis of a court decision.

Financial assistance is provided on a voluntary basis based on an agreement between the parties. They can be oral or written. The latter are formalized in the form of an alimony contract or agreement.

This document must be certified by a notary. You can draw up the agreement yourself or seek the help of a lawyer. This service is also provided by notaries themselves. The cost of an alimony agreement with a notary is established by him independently.

In situations where the potential alimony holder refuses to pay monthly maintenance to the stepfather or stepmother, the dispute is subject to consideration by the court. The judge, after studying the case materials, determines the amount of payments and the procedure for their implementation. During the review, the following nuances are analyzed:

• the presence of family ties between the plaintiff and the defendants, establishing the degree of relationship;
• whether the applicant has other persons who are able to provide him with financial support;
• whether the defendant has other dependents;
• the financial situation of the parties and their state of health;
• income and expenses of the plaintiff, etc.

In addition, the minimum subsistence level approved by the regional authorities is also taken into account.

Under what conditions is financial maintenance paid?

Receipt by stepfathers and stepmothers of monthly payments provided for by law under the following conditions:

• the stepdaughter or stepson is of age and able to work;
• the applicant raised the defendant for more than 5 years;
• whether the potential payer has the opportunity to provide financial assistance;
• the plaintiff is a pensioner, disabled;
• the stepfather or stepmother does not have closer relatives who can help financially.

That is, alimony obligations cannot be imposed on persons who are already in difficult financial circumstances.

The responsibility to provide financial support to the plaintiff may be assigned to several citizens at once. At the same time, when determining the amount of payment, the judicial authority takes into account the financial situation of each participant.

Time limit for consideration of the application and adoption of a court decision

For cases dealt with by writ, the following deadlines are established:

1. 5 days from the date of filing the application for the judge to make a decision on whether the documents and information submitted by the applicant are sufficient to issue a court order or not.
2. As a rule, within 1 week from the date of issuance of the order, the judge sends a copy of it to the defendant. The defendant has 10 days from the date of receipt of the letter with the order to file an objection to it.
3. If the defendant misses the deadline for filing objections, the order takes effect.

For cases dealt with through claims proceedings, the following deadlines are established:

1. The total review period is 1 month. It is counted from the day the application is filed until the day the decision is announced at the court hearing.
2. The decision on whether to accept the claim into its own proceedings is decided by the judge within a maximum of 5 days, counting from the date of filing the documents.
3. The time to appeal the decision is 1 month, counted from the day the court decision is made in its final form.

Calculation of alimony for other family members

If the parties do not agree on the amount of alimony, then it is determined by the court in a fixed sum of money equal to a certain amount of the subsistence level (ML).

When changing the size of the monthly allowance, the amount of alimony is indexed. Indexation is carried out by the bailiff or the payer's employing organization.

When considering the case, the court takes into account the financial and family status of the parties, as well as all persons obliged to support the applicant, regardless of whether claims have been made against them. The degree of participation of each of the defendants in the maintenance of the plaintiff is determined by the court depending on their financial and marital status.

Alimony may be withheld from the following types of income of the defendant:

• Salary;
• Income from business activities;
• Profits on securities or from leased property;
• Benefits;
• Scholarships;
• Pensions;
• Bonuses, additional payments;
• Fees.

List of documents for filing a claim for alimony collection

Payments to guardians and educators

Russian legislation also provides for financial support for guardians and educators. These are the people who not only raised, but also supported stepchildren. It is to them that wards and pupils may be required to pay a certain amount of money every month. The court can do this if the following factors are present:

• the plaintiff is disabled;
• the minor was raised by the plaintiff for more than five years;
• inability to receive financial assistance from relatives or spouse;
• the financial situation of the plaintiff allows us to provide support to the applicant.

Arbitrage practice

First example

The case was heard at court site No. 26 of the Sretensky district of the Chita region in March 2012.

The demand for the recovery of alimony from the defendant in his favor until the child turns 3 years old, and for a small child until he reaches 18 years old, was filed by the ex-wife. She motivated her demand for maintenance by the fact that the child is less than 3 years old, and therefore she has no income, since she is on maternity leave and caring for him.

In addition, the plaintiff reported at the court hearing that she does not live with the defendant in the same territory and supports the child on her own. At the meeting, the ex-wife was forced to partially renounce her demands, namely, to refuse to collect alimony benefits for herself, because the ex-husband did not have a job. In this regard, he could not have a sufficient level of income to allow him to support his ex-wife.

For his part, the defendant said that he agreed to pay child support. Since the defendant accepted this demand of the second party, the court did not continue the proceedings. The court ordered the ex-husband to provide financially for his minor child and to allocate 1/4 of his earnings to provide for him.

Second example

The case was heard at court site No. 312 of the Ostankino judicial district of Moscow in April 2014.

The claim was filed by a former spouse who became disabled during the marriage. As she indicated in the application, she is not in a new marriage, is a disabled person of group 2 and needs financial support, because her pension is 14,000 rubles, and expenses for utilities, food, medicine and clothing are approximately 23,000 rubles. monthly. In addition, she is obliged to financially help her elderly parents. For this reason, she needs alimony in the amount of 10,410 rubles. monthly, as well as alimony for the past period, starting from February 2012.

In court, the plaintiff said that her ex-husband knew that she had a serious illness even before the marriage and promised to help, but after the divorce he stopped doing so. The defendant stated that he helped the plaintiff’s family during the marriage, and the ex-wife’s pension is above the subsistence level, so she cannot be considered needy.

In addition, the ex-wife has a son who is over 18 years old, which means he must help his mother. The defendant, in turn, has obligations to his pregnant wife and son, whom he must provide for. Also, the defendant has obligations to banks and does not have any valuable property (personal apartment, jewelry or car).

The court determined that the plaintiff cannot demand alimony payments from the defendant for the past period, because she cannot prove that she previously tried to obtain alimony from her ex-husband. In this case, the court is obliged to take into account the fact that the ex-husband is obliged to support a new family (a pregnant wife and a young son), as well as the fact that the plaintiff has an adult child who does not want to help her. Therefore, the court decided that the defendant would pay only 2,500 rubles. every month in favor of the plaintiff.

In what cases does the payment of alimony stop?

Alimony obligations are terminated if the court determines that the recipient has regained his ability to work, has ceased to be in need, or has entered into a new marriage.

Termination of alimony payments is also possible:

• upon expiration of the agreement;
• the child has reached the age of majority or legal capacity until adulthood;
• when a child is adopted by another person;
• as a result of the death of one of the parties.

If a debt has arisen regarding the payment of funds, the debtor’s property may be seized, his assets may be seized and a ban on traveling abroad may be imposed.

For late payment of funds, penalties are imposed that increase the amount of debt, and the debtor must remember that for evading responsibility he may incur administrative and even criminal penalties.

Similar articles:

• How to write and submit a statement of claim for the collection of child support?
• Notarized agreement on payment of alimony
• How to apply for child support if we are not married, but the child is registered with the father?
• How is child support calculated?
• Procedure for calculating child support

• Previous post When do child support obligations end?
• Next entry How to apply for alimony while married?

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Alimony to parents

The responsibility of pupils to support their actual caregivers, who can be either biological parents or guardians, includes financial assistance if necessary.

A child who has reached the age of majority can support his parents both on the basis of voluntary consent and after a lawsuit in a situation where the parent turns out to be incompetent or poor and cannot support himself independently.

The obligation of pupils to support their actual teachers arises only if the parent receives a pension that does not satisfy the norms existing at the legislative level, or has a disability of the first or second group.

Grandmothers, grandfathers and other persons who are in close family relationships with the payer have the same rights.